INDIA bloc meet: DMK to skip as posters against Rahul Gandhi surface

Posters targeting Rahul Gandhi appeared in Delhi before the INDIA bloc meet. DMK will boycott the meeting after Congress allied with TVK, with a DMK leader calling Congress a 'non-reliable party' and predicting more exits from the alliance.

Posters targeting the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, appeared on multiple roundabouts in New Delhi ahead of the INDIA bloc meeting on Monday. The posters highlighted past statements by Opposition leaders against the Congress MP. The posters included remarks by NCP (SCP) chief Sharad Pawar, TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin, and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, against Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.

DMK Boycotts Meeting, Slams Congress

This comes amid some visible cracks in the INDIA bloc. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) will not be attending the meeting, as Congress ended its long-standing partnership with the party after Congress joined hands with the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). DMK leader TKS Elangovan expressed unhappiness with Congress and claimed that more parties are set to quit the INDIA bloc because of Congress. He called Congress a "non-reliable party."

Elangovan said, "Our cadres are unhappy with Congress. Congress is calling an INDIA bloc meeting. They have joined the TVK even after winning on our side. They have shifted their allegiance to TVK and stated that in the forthcoming local body and Parliament elections, they will be with TVK and not the INDIA bloc. Then how can our cadres allow us to attend the meeting? That is why we are not attending the meeting. Every party will attack Congress because they were all affected by Congress. I heard that AAP is not attending the meeting. Let's see what Lalu Prasad and others decide. Congress is shifting its allegiance. How can they do that?"

"They claim to be the leaders of the INDIA bloc, but they have shifted their allegiance to a party that is not in the INDIA bloc. Most of the parties will quit the INDIA bloc. That is my expectation, because Congress has become a non-reliable party," the DMK leader added.

Friction With Other Allies

Congress has faced backlash from its allies against whom it contested in the State Assembly elections, including Trinamool Congress in West Bengal and CPI(M) in Keralam. The CPI(M) has conveyed its concern to Congress over the "systematic campaign" against its leadership during the Keralam Assembly polls, but the party has decided that MP John Brittas will attend the INDIA bloc meeting.

Leaders Confirm Attendance Amid Rifts

According to senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, 23 political parties will be in attendance at the meeting, which will take place at the Constitution Club in the national capital. He also maintained that the Opposition parties are "unified." Mamata Banerjee will attend the meeting today, while Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray will mark his presence virtually. (ANI)

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